Ask your trusted Realtor (if there is such person) to poke around and find out:
1. how much he owes on that property you want to rent;
2. if he owns other properties in the county;
3. how much he owes on the other properties he might own.
It’s all public data and the title companies have that info.
If you have time, you can go to the County Recorder’s office to poke around yourself.
I think that a subscription to realtytrac.com might give you the data you need, but I’ve not tried it.
